It's easy to forget that Ben Simmons, former No. 1 overall pick, Rookie of the Year winner, and three-time All-Star, is only 28 years old. Not long ago, he was viewed as the second coming of Magic Johnson and a potential successor to LeBron James' figurative crown.
Now, Simmons is a free agent without a clear direction. His play has fallen off after a series of mental health struggles and back injuries in the aftermath of his divorce from the Philadelphia 76ers. After two seasons and change with the Brooklyn Nets, the 6-foot-10 Aussie point guard ended up with the Los Angeles Clippers for the stretch run of this season. He probably won't be back.
What's next for the Peacekeeper? The Wizard of Oz? Simmo the Savage? (Sorry, gotta get off some of these Basketball Reference nicknames.) Well, according to the oddsmakers in Las Vegas, he could end up with the Sixers' foremost rivals.
This would be a slap to the face for 76ers fans.https://t.co/5SQTaYjpVn
— The Sixer Sense (@SixerSense) May 11, 2025
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Celtics emerge as shocking favorites to sign Ben Simmons in free agency
The Boston Celtics are the current odds-on favorites (+400) to sign Simmons in free agency if he leaves the Clippers, per Bovada. The second-closest team is the New York Knicks at +750, another outcome that would either elate or dismay the Sixers fandom.
This could end one of two ways. Either Simmons continues to fall off and his presence is nothing more than a hindrance for the reigning champs. Watching Simmons pump-fake open layups and stall drives with indecision in Boston would almost be soothing. Or, he could find some of that old magic and turn into a productive role player for the East's most imposing team.
If that were to happen, one has to think the Simmons vitriol in Philadelphia would reach even more toxic levels. Most fans have left the Simmons nonsense in the past, but Boston is an acutely threatening rival with a lot of bad blood. If Simmons finally starts to look like a real basketball player again in TD Garden, expect plenty of frustrated tweets coming from the greater Philadelphia area.
Simmons was fine this season if you strip away all standards or expectations tied to his max contract, which the Nets bought out midway through the campaign to facilitate his arrival in LA. Simmons put up 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists on 52.0 percent shooting in 22.0 minutes across 51 games (24 starts). That is a far cry from his All-Star output of yore, but Simmons can still get downhill, distribute to shooters and supply staunch defense on the wing. He's a perfectly adequate niche role player with a few outlier strengths and an even more glaring outlier weakness.
Boston would presumably lock up Simmons on a minimum 'prove-it' contract with hopes that he can contribute to a fairly thin second unit. As Al Horford ages, the Celtics might benefit from a more spry playmaking hub in the frontcourt. Simmons teaming up with his fellow Sixers arch nemesis in Boston, as Horford's logical successor, would add an extra layer to the bitterness in Philly. But again, this is objectively a funny outcome, especially if Simmons does perform. Spoken as a Sixers fan, I wouldn't be able to stop from laughing if Ben Simmons emerges as a critical cog in the Celtics buzzsaw in 2026. It feels like a very Sixers outcome.